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Once every couple weeks, an inmate walks out of a Colorado jail. Some have little to no idea why they’re being released. 9NEWS follows a case out of Boulder.
BOULDER, Colo. — Dozens of times a year, jails in Colorado release inmates the state deems incompetent to stand trial.
Often, they’re released with no plan, no structure and no idea how to help.
In September at 11:15 p.m., a man named Cole – who 9NEWS Investigates have chosen to identify using only his first name due to a lack of conviction – left the Boulder County Jail with no shoes. He had just an apple, a sandwich and some clothes given to him by the staff at the jail. The release came a little less than a year after a girl said Cole attacked her near her school in Boulder County.
At a time when it’s hard to find agreement on anything, Cole’s story has left everyone involved willing to agree on this: The system is failing.
“It’s a broken system,” Cole’s mother said.
The state assigns a seemingly innocuous acronym to a few dozen people every year: PITP or permanently incompetent to proceed.
Technically – and simply – it means a defendant doesn’t possess the capability of participating in his or her own defense.
Here’s a breakdown of PITP designation by year in Colorado:
- 2019 – 67
- 2020 – 34
- 2021 – 36
- 2022 – 44
- 2023 – 48
By state law, these people can’t go to trial.
Cole’s story started in 2018 when prosecutors in Boulder charged him for grabbing a woman from behind. Two years later, a judge dismissed the charges after the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo determined him incompetent to proceed.
Last year, Cole was the one and only suspect in the assault of a teenage girl in Boulder County. Prosecutors said he “forcefully pushed her to the ground and then covered her mouth with his hand.”
She eventually ran away and prosecutors charged him with misdemeanor assault.
“This is a man who is tormented by schizophrenia,” said Joe Swenson, a Boulder attorney. “He waves his hands. He talks to himself. He shakes and moves his head back and forth.”
To those who were unaware of his mental health problems, Cole was “the boogeyman”, Swenson said.
Swenson maintains Cole is far from dangerous. This year, he once again raised competency as an issue in the assault case.
And, once again, the courts decided he couldn’t be restored to competency and the case was dismissed.
Cole’s release happened a little after 11 p.m. on Sept. 4.
Once again, there was no plan in place to help.
“He’s got no money. He’s got no phone. He’s got an inability to communicate with anyone. Yet, he’s released at 11 o’clock at night?” Swenson said.
His mother picked him up that night. She said her son suffered what she called his first psychotic break at the age of 16.
Since then, he’s been in and out of hospital emergency rooms, psychiatric facilities and jails.
“Nothing prepares you for this,” his mom said.
“[Cole] was in jail for a year. There should be a plan for what happens when he gets out,” Rep. Judy Amabile said. “You have to wonder in what would us somebody who has been found not likely to be restored to competency twice is not eligible for mental health care services.”
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